{ sugar cubes & straining lungs; elady }
it was night--
it seemed as though it was always night in the moments brady made his way back to the city. fingers breaking from his lazy grip on the steering wheel, the man instead chose to drum his fingers idly as he continued his ride through the glimmering city. although he enjoyed nothing more than admiring the lights that seemed to canopy the entire city of manhattan, night after night of these late drives were beginning to take a toll on brady, often leaving him to find himself exhausted; sometimes even nodding off at the wheel.
snapping to his senses, brady shook himself awake, straightening his spine and turning swiftly down an avenue. his gaze latched onto a neon sign, the electric blue lettering declaring that coffee would be found inside. deciding the trip would be entirely necessary--the brunette wasn’t interested in a car crash--brady easily found a place to park and was soon enough listening to the chime of bells above his head as he entered the quaint coffee house.
the waitress at the counter seemed much too chipper for the hour, especially with the cozy aura the shop around them seemed to ooze. at her inquiry for his order, brady offered a smile, keeping his tone low as he wondered, “do you guys serve anything to eat?” within minutes, he’d been assured a quick delivery of his meal, and was collapsing into a tall stool nestled in the corner of the place. a decent view, his eyes began to scope the dimly lit room, whiffs of fresh ground coffee being inhaled with each intake of breath.
and then he saw her.